Perceived Quality of Tesla Model S P85D in long term Consumer Reports testing

[Aussie Yank]

This article showed up in today's USAToday newspaper. Apparently, Consumers Reports, a well respected magazine which takes no advertising, was asked by its readers to buy a P85D for a long term testing (they previously had a single motor variant which they tested for a long time, and although had some quality problems, they rated the car one of the best of all time). They buy all their cars directly, without disclosing who they are.

Obviously they had a glitch with our new favorite car: door handle malfunctioned and as a result could not drive the car (at least for more than two minutes)

Bad press, unfortunately .... :cursing:

Consumer Reports' $127K Tesla becomes 'undriveable'

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...r-reports-tesla-model-s-door-handles/27492335/

 

[doctorwho]

A new car has a problem, pretty common really. Nothing to see here

 

[James Anders]

A new car has a problem, pretty common really. Nothing to see here

Sadly, door handle problems are not new. And yes, the problem is way too common.

 

[Aussie Bob]

Tesla service fixed problem quickly as usual. Consumer Report still gave Modrl S a great rating despite door handle problem.

 

[doctorwho]

Sadly, door handle problems are not new. And yes, the problem is way too common.

James I agree with you but all new cars have design weaknesses, Tesla is no different in that respect and its a non story. Of course the design should be improved but the real story is that a repair person came out promptly to replace the part - no booking at a dealer, no loaner car...

 

[Aussie Yank]

Another front page article/video on the P85D door handle problems.....again, not in of itself important as an issue (given the fast service), but not good press for our favorite car. Yes defects happen, yes car companies respond, yes the P85D is fantastic.....however, quality or rather perceived quality, is important to a brand's image

Quality first

Why Consumer Reports says Tesla's new $127k car is 'undriveable'

 

[Trav]

I hope my door handles don't have a problem as we have no service agent in WA........

 

[Blue heaven]

I hope my door handles don't have a problem as we have no service agent in WA........

That brings up another few questions Trav, there's more than a dozen Model S vehicles in WA apparently, how have they coped so far? Out of all the vehicles delivered in Australia up to now how many have had door handle problems? 1 in 10?, 1 in 200? No problems at all? I'm pretty confident in Tesla's ability to build an all-round reliable product but am interested to know.

 

[WhiteStar]

That brings up another few questions Trav, there's more than a dozen Model S vehicles in WA apparently, how have they coped so far? Out of all the vehicles delivered in Australia up to now how many have had door handle problems? 1 in 10?, 1 in 200? No problems at all? I'm pretty confident in Tesla's ability to build an all-round reliable product but am interested to know.

My guess is 1 in 200 or even less. That would equate to maybe 1 or, at most, 2 door handle issues across the entire Australian Model S fleet to date. Maybe not even that many.

 

[James Anders]

James I agree with you but all new cars have design weaknesses, Tesla is no different in that respect and its a non story. Of course the design should be improved but the real story is that a repair person came out promptly to replace the part - no booking at a dealer, no loaner car...

But it's not a new car anymore. I don't understand why this can't be resolved.

Maybe I should start a Kickstarter effort to redesign the door handles.

Elon's engineers told him these were a bad idea and he insisted (that's the story I hear).

 

[Dborn]

Only minor issue i have had to date was a sticky charge port door - resolved by Sydney service centre in about 10 minutes total. Not sure what they did, but they said it was not an unknown issue.

 

[Trav]

That brings up another few questions Trav, there's more than a dozen Model S vehicles in WA apparently, how have they coped so far? Out of all the vehicles delivered in Australia up to now how many have had door handle problems? 1 in 10?, 1 in 200? No problems at all? I'm pretty confident in Tesla's ability to build an all-round reliable product but am interested to know.

Hey blue, I have heard that WA currently has around 20 Tesla's already on the road, and it seems we have at least another 10 or so on order. I am not aware of any door handle issues. I was told (and accepted) that if we had any problems that were not able to be fixed remotely then we would need to freight our cars back to NSW or VIC for repair. My guess is that this type of uncertainty will be impacting on sales, so fingers crossed they consider a service centre at some stage in the future. As far as I am aware none of the cars have had issues with the door handles.

 

[Blue heaven]

Hey blue, I have heard that WA currently has around 20 Tesla's already on the road, and it seems we have at least another 10 or so on order. I am not aware of any door handle issues. I was told (and accepted) that if we had any problems that were not able to be fixed remotely then we would need to freight our cars back to NSW or VIC for repair. My guess is that this type of uncertainty will be impacting on sales, so fingers crossed they consider a service centre at some stage in the future. As far as I am aware none of the cars have had issues with the door handles.

20 in WA already is a good result, I guess a Perth service centre is on a long Tesla Australia "to do list", as the saying goes on this side of the country we're going to have to Wait Awhile.
if the Tesla team come over late in the year I hope they remember we dont have daylight saving and their watches need to be put back 2 years and 3 hours!

 

[WA-T3sla]

I was told (and accepted) that if we had any problems that were not able to be fixed remotely then we would need to freight our cars back to NSW or VIC for repair. My guess is that this type of uncertainty will be impacting on sales, so fingers crossed they consider a service centre at some stage in the future. As far as I am aware none of the cars have had issues with the door handles.

I was told something similar, but was also told that there has been 1 car so far that did need to be taken back east to fix an issue. Not sure what the issue was.

 

[GregHudson]

James I agree with you but all new cars have design weaknesses, Tesla is no different in that respect and its a non story. Of course the design should be improved but the real story is that a repair person came out promptly to replace the part - no booking at a dealer, no loaner car...

Are you forgetting they have already had several years to fix the door handle problem? It is not a 'new' car in the true sense...
GH

 

[TesAus]

Are you forgetting they have already had several years to fix the door handle problem? It is not a 'new' car in the true sense...
GH

In the same way that millions of other cars each year get safety recalls?

 

[GregHudson]

In the same way that millions of other cars each year get safety recalls?

I'm not talking about safety recalls, I'm talking about poor design. There should be NO Aussie cars with door handle issues, because they have had plenty of time to 'cure' the problem with the USA / EU deliveries already. Or, in other words, the factory build center has not been updated to fix the problem before it starts. IMO the retractable handles are a gimmick anyway, and just one (or 4) more thing to go wrong. If they can't get this right, imagine what the poor buggers who have ordered an X are going to have to put up with one the Falcon Doors are let loose onto the world (yet another DUMB idea IMO). Personally, I feel this is a STUPID design, and does not save any space / make it easier to enter the rear because the FRONT door is still hinged. If you have so little space you can't get out of the car, it isn't going to make any difference at the rear door. Hopefully the Model 3X will not have either retractable door handles or falcon doors - but does include a speed limiter, grab handles above each door, door pockets, rear cup holders, etc etc...

 

[heosat]

I'm not talking about safety recalls, I'm talking about poor design. There should be NO Aussie cars with door handle issues, because they have had plenty of time to 'cure' the problem with the USA / EU deliveries already. Or, in other words, the factory build center has not been updated to fix the problem before it starts. IMO the retractable handles are a gimmick anyway, and just one (or 4) more thing to go wrong. If they can't get this right, imagine what the poor buggers who have ordered an X are going to have to put up with one the Falcon Doors are let loose onto the world (yet another DUMB idea IMO). Personally, I feel this is a STUPID design, and does not save any space / make it easier to enter the rear because the FRONT door is still hinged. If you have so little space you can't get out of the car, it isn't going to make any difference at the rear door. Hopefully the Model 3X will not have either retractable door handles or falcon doors - but does include a speed limiter, grab handles above each door, door pockets, rear cup holders, etc etc...

My wife now owns 2 Model S and all the "issues" that you are complaining about are not issues in the slightest:

• Door Handles - DOA handles are still an issue (as are DOA issues for many different components of many cars) but it's very rare for a handle to stop functioning months after arrival. On the flip-side it is still amazing to be greeted by the handles every day and they obviously reduce wind noise and improve aerodynamics.
• Falcon Wing Doors - Initially I thought they were a gimmick (I also initially thought the touchscreen was a gimmick) but upon further consideration it is an amazing feature for families. Being able to step into the car to put your child/baby in their seat rather than having to twist yourself through the door opening will make life so much simpler. Similarly stepping into a car for an adult is a major benefit, especially for those who are less mobile.
• Speed Limiter? - The car has a speed limiter... It's limited to 190-220km/h in Australia depending on model.
• Grab Handles - Not a big deal. If your driver is driving like an imbecile then ask them to drive better. Plus, there's a grab area on the door and the new seats have excellent lateral support.
• Door Pockets - I can't say we miss them in the slightest. Between the seat pocket and the stupidly massive centre storage area, we have room for everything that we need. In fact, now that we don't have room for junk, we now actively remove useless items from the car.
• Rear Cup Holders - Yes, that's annoying, but they'll address it.

 

[AnOutsider]

My wife now owns 2 Model S and all the "issues" that you are complaining about are not issues in the slightest:

• Speed Limiter? - The car has a speed limiter... It's limited to 190-220km/h in Australia depending on model.
• Grab Handles - Not a big deal. If your driver is driving like an imbecile then ask them to drive better. Plus, there's a grab area on the door and the new seats have excellent lateral support.

Always love these "it's not broken, you're doing it wrong" responses.

 

[doctorwho]

Greg I agree with you about the falcon doors, why complicate a good design, and the most likely reason for the delay of the Model X, however I've had faulty door handles on my Subaru and on previous cars so even though its an uncommon problem it also happens to conventional mechanical handles as well.
Personally, I don't ever use door pockets and seat pockets are just for street directories in our cars - who needs a street directory in a Model S. I'm also not a cup holder fan so the Model S probably comes standard with 1 too many for me. Of course other people have their own needs and preferences so it isn't set up just right for everyone. I can see why some complain that the seats are too flat and lack lateral support but personally I much prefer that to my Recaro styles seats in our Subaru where the side bolsters exacerbate my ilii-tibial band syndrome (cyclists curse).

My Model S quality looks very good so far, tight panel gaps, neat straight stitching inside, no rattles - I hate rattles and squeaks.